


Drama Queen

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [62]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Prompt from Anonymous: klaroline prompt from tumblr - "The girl playing your wife went home early today and I'm her understudy so I guess I'm your wife now haha why are you looking at me like that au"





	1. Chapter 1

"Forbes!"

Caroline perked up from her stretches to find the student director waiting impatiently. If there was one thing every freshman knew in Whitmore's Drama Department, it was that Katherine Pierce hated to be kept waiting. Gunning to be a star one day, Caroline wasn't about to disappoint her program's dictator. She scrambled to stand, anxiously picking at her dance leggings as discreetly as she could. "Yes?"

"Lucy needs a rest day and Nora has a test tonight so she can't understudy," Katherine explained in a bored voice. "You're on for Belle if you can fit the costume."

"I can!" Caroline's neck hurt from the force of her enthusiastic nod, but she thought it was a bit more dignified than clapping in her joy. Most underclassmen competed for the chorus spots, and she had been lucky enough to understudy for actual bit parts in that semester's production of 'Beauty and the Beast.' To take the lead, even only for a night, would be a major opportunity. "Absolutely, I'm ready."

Pinning her with an unimpressed stare, Katherine tilted her head. "We'll find out in rehearsal," she warned. "Klaus has already scared off the first two girls I asked this morning. Because of that, I need you to get to wardrobe ASAP then to choreography. I'll be expecting you to have the routines down before vocal warm-up at four o'clock."

As the director turned on her heel to check the other rehearsal rooms, Caroline wilted. Klaus Mikaelson was a legend in the department, more for his grumpy commitment to method acting than his onstage presence, which was plenty legendary on its own. Most people expected him to pull a Brad Pitt and head off to Hollywood one semester short of graduation - but no, he was finishing off his senior year as the Beast.

Boy, was that an apt casting.

Being in the chorus, the only time Caroline really saw Klaus was onstage or during full rehearsals. Apparently, his need to foster and channel the Beast even out of performance had him shut away from everyone in the cast. What she did see, however, was always intense and a little self-important. From what some of the older girls said, Gaston would have been a more natural fit for the dramatic ladies man he usually was. To be playing opposite as his love interest? Caroline was more than a little intimidated.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked when Caroline returned to the chorus warm-up to grab her things. "You're white as a sheet."

"I've got to do a wardrobe check for Belle, I'm filling in tonight," she said, her voice weak with trepidation.

Bonnie refused the blonde's earlier restraint and bounced happily on her toes. "Care, that's amazing!"

"Klaus Mikaelson is going to eat me alive."

Snorting, Bonnie covered her mouth at Caroline's pout. "From what Greta had to say about their fling last semester, you'll probably enjoy it. Twice."

Caroline fought a laugh, though her expression did pinch in discomfort. "TMI, Bon, and that's not going to happen." It wasn't for a lack of appreciation, the man was hot. But her last boyfriend had been hot, too - until she found him sexting an ex-girlfriend on a date with her. "I've had my fill of fuckboys this year. I really don't need to be the latest notch on the jerk's belt."

"So you say," Bonnie teased. "The Caroline I know would have that bad boy wrapped around her finger before the show is even over tonight."

Shaking her head, Caroline smiled indulgently. "Yeah, yeah," she sighed. "I've got to get going before Kat notices-"

"Forbes!"

Caroline rolled her eyes, quickening her pace to the wardrobe department. Anxiety aside, she couldn't let this chance pass her by.

* * *

After a hard hour of choreography practice and vocal runs, Caroline was jittery with nerves as she was laced into Belle's petticoats for a mini dress rehearsal with the Beast himself. Katherine had very unhelpfully described the exact conditions that caused the first two girls she approached to run screaming from the opportunity, and all the ways her big break could go wrong constantly ran through her mind.

"Relax," the director ordered, picking up the iconic blue dress Caroline would be wearing for most of the night. "Klaus is just a drama queen, no different than yourself when the costume almost didn't fit."

Caroline cringed as her minor fit came back to mind; if that was what she had to expect, then maybe she should be scared. "My ego can handle the needling and temper, but will he really drop me during dances if I don't meet his standards?"

"Only during rehearsal."

"Helpful," Caroline muttered, smoothing the skirts along her legs. Her chest raised with a deep breath. "Okay, let's get this over with."

Katherine smirked. "I knew I liked you."

Giving her best pageant queen smile in return, Caroline's eyes were decidedly cool. "Glad it only took you three tries to find the right understudy, then."

"Don't push it, Forbes," the director warned, though her smile didn't falter. "I just can't wait to see how you handle Klaus."

Caroline swallowed at the implicit threat. Back straight and chin high, however, she strode out of the room to finally face the Beast; weakness would not be tolerated.

* * *

Irritation buzzed around him like a mosquito, and Klaus knew he was testing the limits of his commitment to the character. When Katherine explained about the casting change for that night, it took everything in him not to lash out. Still, he realized his bad reaction might have been harsh to the poor girls meant to be filling in. Sent to his reserved dressing room for most of the afternoon, Katherine warned him to work out his anger before she brings the next Belle to work with him.

Lucy might have hated him, but at least she was used to his mood swings; Klaus pitied the understudy paired with his Beast.

"Oh, stop pouting," Bekah snapped, working on the seams of his costume. His baby sister had happily played the nepotism card for internship credit in the wardrobe department, and she was probably the only person left in the building that wouldn't completely avoid his act. "The self-loathing thing is your character's worst trait, and it's even worse compounded with your surly attitude. Get over yourself and try on this coat."

Rolling his eyes, Klaus shrugged into the costume. He obediently stood still as Rebekah pulled at the lapels to straighten the lines, until a knock at the door distracted them both. "I want you onstage in one minute to run through the dance with tonight's Belle," Katherine called from the hallway. "You've burned through two already, and I'm out of time to prepare another. Make it work, Mikaelson."

"Ugh," Rebekah groaned. "What does Elijah see in her?"

Klaus just grunted in disapproval, sweeping out of the room to leave Rebekah pondering their brother's love life. A part of him wanted to refuse the new girl just to spite Katherine, but their rivalry wasn't worth ruining the entire night's performance. He never knew who might be in the audience, especially as agents had been reaching out over the course of his final semester, hungry for an awarded up-and-comer. As he approached the stage, Klaus could only hope he actually had chemistry with the last-minute understudy.

The performance hall was almost deserted; the crew was probably grabbing a quick dinner before making final adjustments. A blonde woman practicing her choreographed steps was the only other soul around, and Klaus watched as the skirts swirled around her ankles. She was a bit robotic in her movements, clearly focused on landing them precisely. Her exacting frown endeared Klaus to the girl he thought he recognized from the chorus, and he felt drawn to join her.

Moving quietly, Klaus stalked toward her from behind and carefully watched each step she made. Just as she was about to turn, he grabbed her hand and twirled her into his arms. Her eyes widened as he continued their dance, and he rather got the impression she wanted to stomp on his toes for surprising her. Still, she fell into step with him, running her hand along his shoulder to settle against his neck.

Had he been wearing his Beast head, her hand would have appeared to intimately twine into his fur. Without the barrier, he could easily feel the stroke of her finger on his bare skin. It was a natural connection between their characters, and Klaus sensed the chemistry he had been hoping for.

Pulling her into the sweeping waltz, he couldn't take his eyes off hers. With each turn he lead her into, a new spark would appear in her green eyes: confusion, an urge for control, or - his favorite - pure delight as he twirled her once more. She felt right against him, her hand fitting perfectly inside his. Blonde curls whipped around her shoulders and hit his neck.

Klaus itched to draw the breathless smile she gives on the final dip, her chest heaving that he could feel each gasp from the hand that held her up. He towered over her a moment too long, which she likely noticed when her eyebrows furrowed with tension. Coughing, Klaus raised her back to a standing position, his hand still lingering on her waist for no other reason than he didn't want to stop touching her. He pulled back as though burned by the realization.

"Well, hi," the blonde laughed, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'm Caroline, the understudy. Guess I'm your Beauty for tonight. Ugh, that sounded gross, but you know what I mean," she babbled. When he didn't say, she looked up in question. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Letting his face go slack, Klaus just nodded as he turned on his heel to stride away.

* * *

Caroline watched him go, a frustrated confusion overwhelming her.

Slow claps from backstage distracted her, however, from the infuriating man who just left their surprisingly charged rehearsal. Turning, she found Katherine smirking at her again. "What?"

"I'm congratulating myself for choosing well," she gloated. "You really got under his skin."

"Oh," Caroline huffed without humor. "So that was the Beast I've been hearing so much about?"

Katherine shook her head. "Honey, that wasn't the Beast. That was all Klaus. It's about time someone broke his method ass, I was about to kill him. He's inhuman enough as it is."

With her skin still humming from their dance, Caroline wasn't so sure.

* * *

Klaus stormed into his dressing room. The blood buzzed in his veins, and he needed to do...something. His thoughts were too frazzled for him to settle on a course of action.

Of course, he had forgotten his dressing room wasn't empty for a bit of self-evaluation. Without looking up from her stitches, Rebekah sneered, "Are you going to scare this one off, too?"

"Leave me be," he ordered.

Despite the grumbling fuss his sister put up, Klaus was pleased when she went without throwing so much as a shoe. She still had a parting barb as she dropped the costume she had been working on, though. "A little appreciation would be nice, Nik."

The sentiment clicked for him, even if it would be directed in a different direction than Rebekah had hoped.

He pulled out his phone to look up the number for a florist. "Yes, hello," he said when the call connected. "I'd like a bouquet for delivery, Whitmore Drama Department after seven p.m. Red roses in full bloom."

He hears the florist typing, his heart beating oddly in his chest. "Anything for the card, sir?"

Thinking for a moment, Klaus licked his lips before answering. "'Thank you for the dance, Caroline.'"


	2. Drama Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from thetourguidebarbie (among several others): GIVE ME MORE

"Oh my god, did you hear?!"

Caroline looked up from her script, highlighter poised, to see Davina bouncing on her toes. The young girl was sweet, but Caroline wasn't quite in the loving place to treat her like a sister yet; that would have to wait until the cameras started rolling on the spy movie Caroline hoped would be her big, Hollywood break. "Hear what?"

"Klaus Mikaelson is on set," Davina whispered with all the fact of a kindergartner. "I still can't believe he left Broadway, and only to play the villain!"

Smirking, Caroline just went back to her read-through. "Klaus Mikaelson is the villain," she snorted. "Trust me, it comes naturally to him."

Davina ripped the pages from her hand, ignoring her murderous glare. "Do you know him? And you didn't tell me?!"

"Same college program," Caroline answered blandly, taking back her script. "And you'll know him soon enough. I'll bet he only skipped the cast bonding retreats because he didn't want us to get attached to his character."

"What?"

"He's a Method guy," she explained. "We won't see the real him until he's out of character." With a sad smile, she packed up her things. "I'm going to my trailer, but I'll be in hair and makeup at call time."

She didn't wait for Davina's pout before turning on her heel to hide for the rest of the afternoon. Memories of the last time she tried not to get attached bombarded her as she walked across the studio lot.

* * *

_"Why can't you admit there's more to us than just sex?" he asked, his voice exasperated as his hands tore through his hair. "Caroline, I-"_

_"You have a future waiting for you," she implored. Tears streamed down her cheeks, though she kept her arms too tightly crossed to clear her face. She came to his apartment to get this off her chest, and contact would just distract her. "I won't be the one to derail that. "We've been together a month, and suddenly, you're not going to New York anymore?"_

_Klaus sighed, frustrated that she refused to let him step closer, let alone hold her. "It's just another two years for an MFA. I don't see that as derailing my career."_

_"But you weren't even considering an MFA until I said no about transferring to NYU!"_

_"Sweetheart," Klaus said, finally grabbing her wrists to gently unfold her arms. "Why are you fighting this? I want us to stay together, and I thought we'd be on the same side."_

_Crying, Caroline leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "What happened to the Beast who barely spoke?" she muttered miserably. "I thought he'd understand that we aren't supposed to hold the people we love back from being happy."_

_"You love me?" He reached for her cheek to make her face him, his lips just brushing hers. "Love, you make me happy."_

_"Don't you get it?" she cried, pulling back from his hold. "This is too much, too soon. Even if we don't flame out in the next few months, you might resent me for changing your plans so close to graduation. I can handle losing you to greener pastures, but I won't be someone you grow to hate."_

_Klaus frowned. "This is awfully pessimistic of you," he pointed out. "Do you really think so low of me?"_

_Her lip wobbled at his furious expression. "No," she admitted, scrabbling her way into a hug. "I just don't want to miss you."_

_Running one hand along her spine and resting the other in hair, Klaus just held her close. His mouth dried to ash as he nodded. "Then, we go our separate ways after I graduate," he agreed. "Though I hope you'll allow me an excuse or two to stay in touch."_

_She chuckled weakly, kissing him softly. "Friends, then?"_

_Klaus picked her up bridal style, leaning in for another kiss as he walked them to his bedroom. "Not for another week or so," he said softly. "Until then, I'd prefer to make love to my beautiful girlfriend as often as I can."_

* * *

In the five years since, Klaus certainly found every excuse to call or write. A bouquet of red roses in full bloom never failed to appear on opening nights during school, and her first Los Angeles apartment held a mystery package on its doorstep the day she moved in. The 'Beauty and the Beast' print still hung in her guest room, out of sight and mind - but a nice reminder, nonetheless.

She had funded that apartment with the TV series contract she landed right out of college. When she auditioned for what was supposed to be the next James Bond franchise, she hardly expected to land such a large role - or for Klaus to sign on as the corporate villain hellbent on world domination. He had kept mainly to New York, and she hadn't seen him since he watched her senior performance as Elle Woods in 'Legally Blonde.'

Well, she hadn't seen him since the following weekend they barely left her bed.

Butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach since Davina's excited announcement that Klaus was on set. Caroline wouldn't be able to hide forever, but she needed to brace herself before being thrown back into his orbit. Of course, she should have known better.

As she opened her trailer, the first thing Caroline saw was a massive bouquet of red roses. Her mouth turned up in that sad smile again. She picked through the flowers to find a note, frowning when there wasn't a card after all.

"Do you have other admirers I should be worried about?" The familiar voice spoke from the back of the trailer, and she turned to find Klaus leaning by the window. "And here I thought I was doing so well at scaring them away."

Caroline gripped the chair near her, forcing herself to keep her distance. "Last I heard," she said lightly, "you didn't have time to send flowers to random girls. Something about a girlfriend and vacations."

Smirking, Klaus stepped closer. "I left the girlfriend back in New York, with the understanding that I was no longer interested in her company," he explained smugly. "And the vacations, well, you've met Bekah. She never met a paparazzo she didn't like, and the beaches are crawling with them."

"Your sister," she sighed, rubbing at her temple. Every time she happened upon a tabloid article with his name, she tried not to look at the photos. "You went on vacation with your sister."

"It's always good to know you care." Klaus tugged at a loose curl, smiling at her irritated huff. His eyes turned vulnerable as she still held herself away from him. "Do you care, Caroline?"

She licked her lips, tracking the sway of his necklaces as he took another step. "It wasn't a matter of caring, Klaus-"

Without giving her the opportunity to backtrack, Klaus leaned in for a soft kiss. His lips moved languidly, as though savoring the moment. "Well, then," he said, finally pulling back just an inch. "Would you be amenable to dinner tonight? I'm new in town, and I was hoping to lean on a friend to show me around."

Caroline shook her head, swaying closer to him. "No, I think I'd like to grab dinner with my handsome boyfriend," she said, letting her hand settle on his chest when Klaus visibly startled. "See, he sent me these gorgeous flowers, like he always does, and I just want to make him happy."

Laughing, Klaus pulled her in for another, more enthusiastic kiss. "Oh, he's happy, love," he sighed. "Very happy."

"Good," she said, giving him a light shove before he could kiss her again. "But leave the villain crap on set, okay? I want you, not Mr. Evil."

Klaus wrapped her hand in his, twirling her into his arms as he did so many years earlier. "Fair enough, love," he whispered into her hair, swaying along to the silence of her trailer. "Just dance with me, then."

She pressed her face into the curve of his shoulder, feeling settled in way she hadn't since the day she met a Beast and the man underneath. Caroline let him lead, content to enjoy the moment without worrying about what would come next. She just wanted to dance with Klaus.


End file.
